Are robotaxis the future? Or now in the past?
Are robotaxis the future? Or now in the past?
The robotaxi companies have been more than just a bit misleading to both the public and the regulators. Untruths or downright lies? You decide…
Robotaxis won’t get us there, so let’s stop being used to sell a future that doesn’t serve us. This article is from Alice Wong’s DisabilityVisibilityProject.com where you can also find many other articles on disability issues.
Self-driving cars are a fantasy because they are based on flawed technologies. We can and need to do better. The article is from Paris Marxs’ blog at disconnect.blog, where you can also find many other articles on the perils of technologies like robotaxis, and the technologists who foist them on our society.
See full original article by Pete Bigelow at Automotive News. Editors note: this is a key article because the reporter viewed video from the Cruise vehicle and explains how the pedestrian was not suddenly “hurled” or “flung” into the path of the Cruise. Instead, the pedestrian was not severely impacted…
Crash Analysis: 8/18/23 Cruise vehicle crashed with other vehicle at 26th St & Mission St in San Francisco. When a Cruise vehicle detects a problem it stops for “safety”. But this crash shows that doing so can actually be incredibly dangerous and result in serious damage. Cruise never acknowledged the dangerous behavior and apparently never addressed it.
Crash analysis: 8/17/23 Cruise vehicle crashed with a firetruck on an emergency call. Cruise seriously misrepresented what went went wrong and appeared to never address the root problem of their vehicles not stopping for emergency responders.
Crash analysis: 8/7/23 Cruise crashed with a semi-truck on Stanyan St in San Francisco. Definitely not safe to try to overtake a truck that is clearly turning in front of you. Once again, the Cruise robotaxi stopped exactly in the wrong place and was damaged because of lack of defensive driving abilities.
See original article by Sue Vaughan on 48 Hills. They will further damage public transit—and they’re no help to people with disabilities. On August 7 and August 10, the five members of the California Public Utilities Commission will take up the proposal to permit an unlimited number of autonomous Cruise…
An interview with Safe Street Rebel about halting the expansion of Waymo and Cruise in San Francisco. This article is from Paris Marxs’ blog at https://disconnect.blog, where you can also find many other articles on the perils of technologies like robotaxis, and the technologists who foist them on our society.
ABC 7 reporter goes on a wild ride in a Waymo. It stops at a green light on a busy road. Then gets lost and tries to drop off passenger 5 minutes away from their destination. The subsequent try was no better. The journalist wishes that there was a driver to talk to in order to actually get to where they wanted to go.
Crash analysis: on 3/23/23 a Cruise vehicle crashed into the rear of an articulated Muni bus while traveling on Haight Street in San Francisco. Cruise claimed that the problem was due to poor speed prediction of the articulated bus, and that they fixed the problem via a software recall. But this analysis shows that they were not being truthful and that the danger might still exist.
Crash Analysis: on 6/3/2022 a Cruise robotaxi was traveling eastbound on Geary Blvd. At Spruce St the Cruise made a left turn. Before completing the left turn the Cruise stopped in the path of an oncoming car, resulting in a collision. Cruise was very misleading about the cause of the crash.
Philip Koopman, associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University, is an important leader in the safety of autonomous vehicles. His extensive writings at Safe Autonomy are a must read. This article is on the many myths that AV companies have been using to promote their vehicles.
A great film from the 1956 GM Motorama Exhibit that shows how we will have driverless cars, and lots of other Futurama, in 1976! And with some great music that you can sing along to.
